Sturm Haus

Bel in costume

It took me awhile to figure out Bel's costume this year.

Last year, she was the perfect sweet treat.

This year, we required something more. Something that expressed her budding personality and interests.

And as I flipped through a pattern book at Jo-Ann's, thinking about what she likes, I had a brainstorm.

Baskets. My house is scattered with pint-sized bags, baskets and buckets because she's obsessed with carrying things.

Today I'm proud to introduce to you...

Little Red Riding Hood!

Now we pause for a commercial break...

So, Otto woke us up at 5am this morning. He was burning up, and when we took his temp it was over 102. Jon fed him some ibuprofen and tucked him back into bed.

I got up as usual with Bel, got her ready to go, and then got Otto up. He really wanted to show off his costume at school, and I couldn't leave him at home while dropping Bel off, so I helped him dress. I made it clear that we would go to school, walk in the costume parade, and then he and I would come home so he could rest. I wouldn't have taken them at all except for the fact that most of Otto's class was out sick this week with the same thing (seriously - his class was a third its normal size all week). They've already been exposed.

By the time we got back to the house, his fever was passing 103 and getting close to 104. He has a little cough and a runny nose. Normally I would keep him comfortable with ibuprofen, get him to drink his fluids, and ride it out. But H1N1 is running through schools around here like wildfire, and I keep hearing stories about kids who've been really sick with it. So we're going to see the doc this afternoon.

In the interim, Otto has been watching TV and sipping ginger ale. Here are a few things he would like for his birthday:

A giant cupcake cake (he declared it "cool")

Something from the TRIO Building Systems line

 

A Touch N Brush (also "cool")

Pretty reasonable after being bombarded by Disney channel commercials all afternoon.

Annabel was absolutely adorable this morning in her costume and got lots of compliments as she walked back to her classroom. This year was the year of the homemade costumes -- unusual for me, since the ability to get organized in advance for holidays deserted me shortly after the birth of my first child. But my mom's in town, and she did the toughest part. A couple of weeks ago she sewed up the slinky fabric we used for Otto's costume. Watching her made me brave, and I threw together Bel's costume last night while watching Project Runway. So fun!

What were they? Well, I'm going to make you wait just a bit longer -- I have to find the USB card reader thingie for the memory sticks. Which means...

We'll Be Right Back!

the fauxhawk

Oh, my boy. He has inherited a great sense of humor from someone -- his father, I'm sure. They both have that dry wit down pat.

Last night I ran him downtown for a haircut. Picture day is Thursday, and he was getting pretty shaggy! Brandon (our stylist) is great with kids. Otto let him wash his hair, sat pretty quietly for the cut, and made everyone there laugh with his dance moves and extra-polite behavior. The receptionist loved it that he said thank you for getting some ice water.

I loved it that Otto then said "Holy moly!" because the ice water came in a fancy footed glass with a fancy black straw.

I should explain - our salon is a high-falutin' kind of place where everyone wears all black, students get dressed up to go have their highlights done, and there's a DJ and drinks on Thursday nights. Seriously cool, you know? I love throwing my family into that mix. The people-watching is great, the music and location are really fun, and our stylist is super nice. Still, it seems kind of funny to take a 4-yr-old to a salon listed in Elle, so I made sure O was on his best behavior.

I sat in the chair next to him while Brandon cut, and asked him what kind of face he was going to use on Friday to be Batman.

Otto proceeded to go through the following possibilities: Angry (brows drawn down), Happy (exaggerated joy), and Serious (one brow hiked up, mouth askew). The Serious look about slayed me. He quite enjoyed viewing his efforts in the big mirror, too.

Brandon finished cutting and asked Otto what he thought. Otto checked it out, said it was good, then said "OK, now you blow dry."

Brandon laughed and obliged, then asked if Otto wanted "some spikes." My little man, the boy who had no hair to speak of until he was 2, agreed instantly.

So Brandon spiked him up.

It was awesome. Otto danced out the door, and everyone waved goodbye with big grins.

It's nice when everyone has fun, isn't it?

checking in

First: videos! There are more at YouTube if you click through.

Busy week ahead... picture day on Thursday, school Halloween party on Friday, friends coming on Saturday (yay!). Hopefully my kids will be well enough to enjoy it all. Otto's class was at half-strength yesterday because the flu is going around. Makes me a little nervous, truth to tell, and I'm wondering if we should go try to stand in line tonight for the first county H1N1 flu shot clinic. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

oh, the drama!

Tonight Otto sat next to me on the couch and said, "Something really sad happened today."

"Yeah?" I asked, dreading the answer. "What was it?" (I'm imagining a death in someone's family, a friend moving away, something like that.)

"Someone" (pause here with dramatically sad face) "TORE A BOOK."

"Oh my gosh!" I said. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know," he said, and I asked if the perp had been time-outed.

"Yeah," Otto said, "he was lost."

"Lost?"

"He was lost in a time out, but then his daddy came to pick him up and found him."

Best of all, Otto seemed to think the punishment was quite just.

Tear a book, and you will be lost forever!

(Or at least until your daddy comes to find you.)

the cure

I decided last week that I was going to join something.

I'm not, as a rule, a big "joiner" type of person. Desperate times, though, call for desperate measures.

And boy, is our bedroom desperate.

So desperate, I haven't taken any photos yet for the "before" part of before and after. I'm so ashamed! All you have to do is imagine a frat house bedroom crossed with a bookstore shipping department crossed with... um... Toys R Us, peppered with laundry baskets. Yeah. That about covers it.

Well OK, it's probably a bit of an exaggeration. A BIT, I said. A wee bit.

So to help us move forward on our path to Master Suite Enlightenment, I joined the Apartment Therapy Fall Cure. Eight short weeks of following their plan, and our room should look sparkling and fresh. Organized. Cozy. Clean.

Jon doesn't know this yet, by the way. It's better if you don't tell him, either. I think painting is more fun when it's a SURPRISE! Don't you?

Last week's assignment was to find our muse. Get inspired. Compile photos and samples and objects that move you.

So I finally figured out how our scanner works and scanned a bunch of my favorite images into the Komputer.

Like this:

And this!

And last but not least, this:


So calm. So peaceful. So serene. I long for a little serenity... and I shall have it!

ps: the energy for this project was donated by Annabel, who suddenly decided to start sleeping through the night (knock on wood), and took a nap IN HER BED on Saturday. Momentous times, my friends. Momentous.

home on the range

I got the call at 1:30 today, shortly after telling someone that my kids had been fever-free for quite awhile now. I should know better. Really, I should.

Otto's teacher was on the phone to tell me he had thrown up and was running a fever of not quite 101. So I finished the project I'd started, made sure we were OK on staff for the afternoon, and headed out the door early.

When I arrived a couple of staff members said "we knew he must be sick because he was actually sleeping during nap time." He was flushed and limp, and insisted on wearing his hat and "glubs" with his winter coat and boots, despite the fact that it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. Chilling will do that to you.

We came home and I tucked him in on the couch, where he immersed himself in kid TV while sipping ginger ale. Tomorrow he and I will hold down the fort while Bel goes to school (I'm hoping to minimize cross contamination -- plus it's kind of hard to keep him quiet when she's bopping around the house, ready to play).

In the midst of his afternoon PBS-a-thon, there was an ad for an autumn festival in Detroit. Otto perked up and said "hey! I want to go to that! There will be animals, and I like animals!"

He was remembering last weekend, when a friend in Manchester held a farm open house.

We got to see all sorts of critters. Horses, geese, sheep, chickens.

The boys admired the equipment, too.

   

Bel ran around pointing at cats, and terrorized the fowl by talking at them. I swear the turkeys talked back.

Jon terrorized the turkeys, too, by helping catch them so we could get a closer look.

Mmm... parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme... I'm thinking Lois is a good friend to have around Thanksgiving time.

Otto had such a good time, he'd like to do it again. High praise indeed!

And we will, just as soon as he's feeling more the thing.

thank you

Thank you, everyone, for your kindness and support this week.

The house is too quiet, and I keep catching myself looking for or about to talk to Jake. He was woven into our lives for so long...

But mostly, we are doing OK. Sad, of course, as we should be after losing such a dear friend.

The kids seem to be doing fine. Bel, of course, isn't old enough to really comprehend what's happened. I think, though, that in the wise way of a baby, she gets the big picture. She hasn't tried to play in his water dish since Monday.

Otto seems clear on some facts (Jake was obviously very sick and "had a problem," as O said), a little less clear on others. When I tried to explain that Jake might not come home again from the vet's office, he said, "well then we will go with him!" He asked last night why Jake "dived." Despite being dismayed at having to try to explain that it's "died," not "dived," I had to laugh a little at the mental image I had of our dignified, snow-loving Husky swimming among bright schools of fish in a blue sea.

I bought a few books for us to read as needed. If anyone has any others they can recommend, please share. Finding the right books to help explain this to a pre-schooler is tougher than I thought it would be.

And again, thank you.

I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm

Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
(more for me than for Otto)

Always and Forever by Alex Durant

such a good, good dog

He used to get away from us at the Stoughton dog park and go run -- one time he went to play with the ice fishermen, and by the time we caught up, they'd jokingly named him "Frank" for his blue eyes.

Sitting in his run at the humane society, where he was quiet while the other dogs barked their heads off. I asked him, "do you speak?" and he said "rowr rowr rowrrr!" That's when I knew he'd be coming home with us.

When Otto was born, he would lie next to his bouncy seat and listen. The minute Otto squeaked Jake would come get us (or at least look at us) as if to say, "hurry! you have to do something!"

Guarding toddler Otto from the stairs while I got ready in the morning.

A couple of weeks ago Bel started wanting to give him treats in the morning, but she was shy about letting him take one out of her hand. So he'd wait patiently for her to decide whether she would hand it over or just drop it for him. Either way, he was happy.

He appreciated fine Wisconsin cheese. Kraft products held no appeal.

He and Gracie chasing each other up and down the stairs when we visited Iowa. His last visit, there was no chasing -- but he and Gracie were buddies.

We walked a LOT in Stoughton, and all the kids in the neighborhood knew him. We'd be going down the sidewalk and hear "Jake!", and kids would race off front porches to greet him.

He loved kids, especially the small ones. Easier to lick their faces.

When he was young, he hated the summer heat and would stand on the arm rest between the front seats of my car and cry until cool air came out the vents.

He got loose one summer in Janesville, and I managed to tempt him into the passenger seat of my car by opening the door and saying "look Jake, air conditioning!"

Puppy crazies in the snow.

Running at the dog park in winter during a snow storm, where I almost lost sight of him because of his coloring. His body disappeared against the trees, his feet disappeared in the snow. All I could see was the white tip of his tail bobbing along.

Stealing a stick from a retriever who wanted to chew on the stick instead of run. Silly retriever! He ran after Jake to get it back, which is exactly what Jake wanted.

Hanging out in the front yard in the evening to tell his neighbors hello.

Sleeping on the foot of our bed, curled up with his tail over nose.

Catching that skunk while leashed out at our apartment in Farmington.

Taking himself for the usual walk around our neighborhood the last time he got loose, with me running behind him with the stroller, and Jon running ahead to try and cut him off.

Cheeto dust turning the fur around his mouth orange, and me getting in trouble with Jon for sharing.

Everyone thought he was beautiful, and he was -- inside and out.

We are really going to miss him.

Jake

adopted Jul. 15, 1997 - died Oct. 5, 2009

Such a good, good dog.

a bit of cheer

Well, after an awful, awful, week, I came home tonight to find Jake up and moving, standing by his dish and drinking water.

It's not much, but it's the best we've done since yesterday morning. I'll take it. He's downed most of a box of chicken broth today, too, and seems more present tonight. The anti-seizure meds really, really knocked him for a loop. If we're lucky, he'll adjust to the meds and be with us a little bit longer. I'm hoping for Halloween right now. He just loves waiting for the kids to show up in their costumes. Am crossing fingers.

A few weeks ago, Bel and I went outside to hang out while Otto played nearby. She grabbed her doll stroller, her favorite pocketbook, and a baby.

She got mad the other morning when one of her classmates tried to take away her doll and one of the classroom strollers, and cried and cried. She's a doll girl, through and through.